7. La Morte Vivante (1982)
A toxic spillage in a graveyard reanimates Catherine, a young girl who had died a couple of years previously. She heads to her home and has intense memories of her childhood and her great friend Hélène. After killing and drinking the blood of a randy estate agent and his client, Catherine goes to play the piano. Hélène arrives and is horrified to see the bodies. She puts Catherine to bed and takes the bodies down to the cellar. Catherine follows her and starts feasting on a corpse. Hélène is left to think of ways to satiate Catherine's thirst for blood. She tries teaching Catherine to talk and scouts for victims for her. Ultimately, as Catherine becomes more in touch with humanity, she realises what she is and that she should be eradicated. She pleads with Hélène to kill her but this is unconscionable for Hélène who merely goes and seeks more victims for Catherine. After their set up is rumbled, there is a tragic and gruesome end for Hélène who offers up the ultimate sacrifice for her friend. La Morte Vivante (which you may know under its English title, Living Dead Girl) is definitely one of Jean Rollin's greatest cinematic achievements. It is one of his films lacking a disjointed feel, with everything coming together to create a perfect whole. As usual, Rollin casts his actresses well with Françoise Blanchard brilliant as the flesh hungry but melancholy Catherine. Marina Pierro (Walerian Borowyck's muse) is also excellent as the devoted and doggedly determined Hélène, who thinks that everything will work out okay. Again, there is a certain oneiric tone to the film, with everything seeming floaty and unreal, but this is such a trademark stamp of Rollin's that his hardcore fans won't be put off.